


A Marriage Worthy Mocha

by TheOxfordEnglishFangeek (jadinacookie)



Series: Short stories from Cafe Rosetta & Chevalier Ink [1]
Category: The Mundanes (Queer Urban Magic Universe)
Genre: Canon Queer Character, Canon Queer Character of Color, Found Family, Gen, Queer Families, Queer Urban Magic, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-17 11:10:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5867071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadinacookie/pseuds/TheOxfordEnglishFangeek
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a regular morning at Cafe Rosetta.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Marriage Worthy Mocha

**Author's Note:**

> This is The Mundanes Queer Urban Magic Universe, a open sandbox where writers are welcome to come and join us. Please come check out our blog to find out more about the rules of the 'verse and guidelines for writing in it, read shorter stories, see faceclaims, and find inspiration: [The Mundanes](http://themundanes.tumblr.com/)

It was one of those grey mornings where the sunrise had done little to lighten the streets, barely permeating the heavy cloud cover and making no apparent dent on the chill that had rolled in off the lake during the night.  It was also drizzling with rain and had been doing so since Rian had woken up, the kind of rain that managed to cling to everything but wasn’t enough to warrant an umbrella.  That was what he told himself anyway as he wiped the water from his glasses for the umpteenth time since leaving his apartment.

It wasn’t a long walk to his destination by any stretch of the imagination but it was still good to see the familiar string of lights in Café Rosetta’s window, flickering in a gallant attempt to keep the dreariness of the weather at bay and beckoning him in.  Stepping inside, he was surprised to find the place quiet but wasn’t about to complain about the fact, tugging off his beanie and sending his hair springing out around his face in its usual cloud of curls.  The motion caught the eye of the shop’s lone patron and Rian was quick to flash them a grin before making his way to the counter and the person perched on a stool behind it, currently absorbed in the text book in front of them, an uncapped highlighter poised to strike in one hand.

“Girl, do you ever stop?” he asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the counter and prop his chin on his hands so the two of them were at eye level. 

“Good morning to you to Rian,” she replied, highlighting another line in the book before looking up, a half smile pulling at her lips as she capped the pen and set it down between the pages.  

“Didn’t expect to see you this early – did you even sleep?”

“A little rich coming from you El, dontcha think?” he countered, shooting a pointed glance at the textbook between them.  “I know what your studying habits are like – if you didn’t have this place, you’d bankrupt yourself with the amount of caffeine fuelled all nighters you pull.”

“Well it’s a good thing my brother is such an enabler then isn’t it?” Eliot said, closing the textbook with a snap.  “Besides, I’m a student, it’s my prerogative to subsist on a steady diet of caffeine and anxiety with next to no sleep.  You on the other hand…”

“I slept plenty,” Rian said, a lie he would have totally pulled off if he hadn’t unconsciously thought about the obnoxious glare of his alarm clock that morning.

“I wouldn’t call four hours plenty Ri,” she said, sounding unfairly judgemental and more than a little smug as she hopped off her stool and went to put her book away.  “And don’t even think about stealing some of my drink,” she added.

Rian’s hand froze mid-reach where he had been going to do just that, as much a petty act of revenge as it was a desire for caffeine, and looked down behind the counter to where Eliot was battling to fit the thick text into an already stuffed bag.

“Am I that obvious?” he asked, sounding mildly hurt though his eyes were crinkled in amusement.

“Only always,” she replied, grinning up at him before gracelessly rising back to standing.  “Now what do you want to drink because I promise you, you won’t like what I’m having.”

“I wasn’t expecting to have to choose,” he said with a pout, leaning forward to smell what she was drinking and screwing up his face when the scent hit him.   Eliot who had been watching him just laughed and set a jug under the steamer, pouring in some milk and switching it on.

“Be glad I stopped you before you drank some of it,” she said with a grin, raising her voice over the noise as she grabbed a mug.   “You want to try the new special?  I mean I’m not Cam so there’s no guarantee here…”

Rian clasped his hands together as if in prayer and batted his eye lashes up at her, their positions making her taller than him for the moment.  “El, queen of beverages, all I ask is that it’s hot, sweet and caffeinated.  Please, just take mercy and give me something.”

Eliot laughed, the sound of it ringing loud and clear even over the noise of the coffee machine and she closed the small distance between them to press a kiss to his forehead, the hair that had escaped the small bun she was wearing it in tickling his face in the process.  “Only ‘cause you asked so nicely,” she said, voice warm against his cheek before she turned and poured some syrup into the waiting mug, switching off the steamer and prepping a double espresso.

“You know, you should’ve come with us last night, the music was something else,” Rian offered, watching as she bustled around fixing his drink, trying and failing to spot what exactly was going into it.  “And we missed you.”

“Yeah but then I would’ve had to open and do the morning rush whilst sleep deprived and I can think of far better ways to torture myself,” Eliot pointed out, stirring the contents of the jug with a clang then dumping it into the mug.  “There’s a reason Cam was still dead to the world when I came down.”

“Well you two have always been more practical than me that way,” he said, acknowledging her point with a nod that sent his glasses slipping forward.  “Still, it would’ve been better with you there.  I know parties aren’t exactly your thing but it was a good crowd, our kind of people.”

Eliot shot him a smile over her shoulder and finished making up his drink.   “Maybe next time,” she said, presenting his with a flourish and Rian grinned to see she had even gone to the effort of doing the café’s logo on the top of the foam, his expression shifting into one of bliss as he inhaled deeply and was hit with a mixture of chocolate, coffee and orange.

“This is why you’re my favourite,” he told her, expression as close to solemn as he could manage before taking a sip, helpless to stop the moan of delight as it cascaded across his taste buds, his eyes sliding shut as he savoured the moment.

“See now, that’s the kind of thing a person could take personally,” came an amused voice interrupting his moment and were he a lesser person not so much in need of coffee, Rian might have lost his mouthful of drink in surprise.  It was through force of will that he managed to keep it down however and it was with a reproachful look that he opened his eyes to see Cameron smirking at him from the small doorway behind Eliot, hair still mussed from sleep and looking far better than someone who had drunk as much as he had the night before had any right to.

“Disturbing a private moment between a man and his beverage is a low blow Cam,” he said, sounding petulant enough to set both the siblings in front of him giggling which in turn had him curling his hands around the mug protectively as his pout deepened.  Not that he actually minded being the recipient of their teasing but appearances had to be maintained.  “For that alone, Eliot would get to be my favourite even if she is does have terrible taste in drinks.  Yours, not mine that is,” he amended, indicating to her still steaming mug on the counter. “Because I am seriously considering proposing marriage to this mocha.”

“The community will be devastated to hear you’re off the market,” Cam said with a smile as he began fixing his own drink, tutting at the mess Eliot had left and reaching out to swat at her with a cloth.  Years of practice meant that she dodged it with ease even in the small amount of space she had to move in, reclaiming her stool and scooping up her own mug before Cam had a chance to try again.

“Brat,” he said fondly, prompting her to stick her tongue at him and Rian to smile at them both.  

“Not my fault you can’t keep up with me old man,” she said.  “Besides, you’ll never get me now Ri’s on my side.”  She lent across the counter to rest her head against Rian’s shoulder.  “You’ll protect me right? Now that I’m your favourite.”

“Sure baby girl, I got your back,” he said, pointedly ignoring the snort of amusement from Cam as the scent of Turkish coffee permeated the air around them and twisting his head to return the kiss she’d given him earlier to the top of her head.  “Though you know, if he cuts us off, we are both screwed for being able to function ever again so maybe we don’t wanna burn the bridge just yet.”

Eliot gave a little shudder at the thought of it, the motion carrying up through Rian’s shoulder and sending his curls bobbing around his face.  “Don’t even joke Ri,” she said, voice laced with horror before looking beseechingly at her brother.

“You wouldn’t do that to us, would you Cam?”

“Like I ever could,” he replied, smiling as he came over to join them.  “I mean, sure I’d save a whole lot of money with the amount of free drinks I wouldn’t be giving away but I’m not a monster.”

“Truly a barista of great honor and generosity,” Rian said with a smirk, holding up his mug in salute.

Cameron snorted and clinked his own mug against Rian’s, Eliot quickly following suit, the three of them falling into an easy silence until they were interrupted by the arrival of the next paying customer.


End file.
